Shopping online does carry some risk, but so does shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. At least online shoppers don't need to worry about fender-benders in the parking lot, pick pockets at the mall, or getting the flu from all those fellow shoppers.

But the nice thing about shopping online is that by following some basic guidelines you can be reasonably sure you'll have a safe experience.

Secure your PC: The first thing you need to do is be sure your computer is secure. Trend Micro's education director David Perry, says that "bad guys these days are operating by planting a keylogger on your system that listens in, surreptitiously waiting for you to use your credit card or your bank password so that they can steal your money." So, even if you're dealing with a legitimate merchant, you're at risk if your computer is infected. Your best protection from these attacks is to keep your operating system and browsers updated and use a good and up-to-date security program. If you're getting or giving a Netbook or other PC for the holidays, make sure that security software is installed right away. Most security companies offer a free-trial version that will tide you over for a month or so, but be sure to subscribe so you get ongoing protection.

Click with care: You're going to be getting a lot of offers via e-mail this holiday season. While they might be legitimate, there is the possibility of some offers coming from criminals trying to trick you into giving your password to a rogue site or visiting a site that can put malicious software on your computer. Your best protection is to not click on any links--even if the message looks legitimate--but to type in the merchant's URL manually.

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Online shopping is the one of the quickest and best way of shopping as you can do it by staying at your home, you don’t need to go any market. It allows a person to save lot of money. You can purchase products from the groceries to the cars, and the insurance policy to the home loans. While shopping online, you can’t try-on the thing that you want to buy, but if you want to exchange the things, you can do it easily.

You can compare the different prices on the various things that you want to purchase, do research, obtain the information, and get the best deals just with a simple click of mouse. The various sites on the Internet offer different prices, and sometimes they make a large difference. While comparing the prices, you should also consider the shipping costs.

You should make a call on the number listed on the website to check the availability of the stock of the product you want to buy at that time. It is essential because some websites do not update their daily stock list, if they don’t have the item in available then it would be wastage of time.

1. Bigger names equal better protection.
"Go with reputable companies you've heard of," says Jim Stickley, co-founder, CTO and vice president of engineering at TraceSecurity, a company that works with financial institutions to better their network security systems to deter identity thieves.
2. When in doubt, check them out.
If you go with an unknown merchant or Web site, contact someone there who can verify the company's privacy policy for you before you make a purchase. Ask if they'll send you a catalog.
3.3. Encryption doesn't equal security.
Leah Ingram, author of "Gifts Anytime: How to Find the Perfect Present for any Occasion," is a certified etiquette and protocol consultant. This expert gift-giver says one of the first things you should do before typing in your credit card information is look for the "plural URL." That is, when you go to the site's checkout page, the "http" in the URL should change to "https." A closed padlock or key should also appear on the page, letting you know your personal information will be encrypted or scrambled.
4. When sharing is a bad thing.
Shared computers, such as the ones available to multiple strangers at computer centers, are a big no-no, says Branigan.
The danger is that hackers can insert a keylogger into the back of the keyboard, a device that looks like a harmless adapter. This monitoring device captures everything you type before it's encrypted. Sometimes installed as software, the device can be hard to detect. The best thing to do is avoid shared computers when typing sensitive information
5. Pay with a credit card.
You've found a trustworthy site with a secure checkout page. Now you're ready to pay -- with what? Check, money order, debit card, credit card, cash or Monopoly money?
We got a resounding answer from the experts: Credit cards are the safest method for online purchases.

1. Know your Merchant:
It's a good practice to be familiar with the name or reputation of any company you're dealing with. You can often find helpful information about online companies from Internet news sources, directories, and rating services. Shopping that they post relevant information about themselves and their business on an "Information" page. Yahoo! Shopping also provides a rating system, whereby customers are able to evaluate merchants. If you see this symbol Top Service next to a listing, it means that the merchant has provided "top rated" service to customers.

2. Protect your privacy:
Know what information the merchant is collecting about you, how it will be used, and if they share it with or sell it to others. You can do this by checking the web site to make sure there is a privacy policy posted, and that you're comfortable with the way your personal information is treated under that policy. Look for seals from privacy enforcement organizations like TRUSTe or BBBOnLine. Be cautious if you're asked to supply personal information not needed to make a purchase, such as your Social Security number or personal bank account information. (We post a link to our Yahoo! Privacy Policy at the bottom of most Yahoo! pages.

3. Get the Details:
Check for expected delivery dates, shipping and handling fees, warranties, return policies, and other important information. Look for an email address to write to (or a phone number to call) if you have a question, a problem, or if you need help. (We recommend to all Yahoo! Store and Shopping merchants that they post all of this pertinent information on their "Information" pages and that they stay in touch with customers using the email and order-tracking tools that we provide. Look for such a page on any Yahoo! Store.)

4. Use a Credit Card and Safeguard Your Password:
It's a good practice to pay with credit cards, because under federal law (and your credit card agreement) your liability for an unauthorized charge is limited to $50. When using a credit card online, look for an unbroken key or padlock (a graphical icon usually located in the bottom corner of the web page), or for a policy that indicates use of strong security technology such as SSL. This indicates that your credit card data is transmitted securely.

5. Keep Good Records:
Make sure to print or save electronically any records related to your online transactions. This will help you keep track of shipping dates, shipping and handling fees, and other details of your transactions.

Shopping online is a great way to save time and money, but those efficiencies quickly vanish for people who lack basic online shopping smarts. Take a few minutes to review these safe shopping tips: They may just save you a world of headache and financial pain.

1. Shop with a credit card, not a debit card. The banks are pushing more consumers toward debit cards with a bevy of awards programs because they can charge merchants higher fees than on credit card-based transactions, said Avivah Litan, a fraud analyst with Gartner Inc. But if your debit card number gets stolen, it might be somewhat more complicated to sort things out, especially if fraud causes overdrafts and bounced checks.

2. Keep track of your receipts. Some experts advise online shoppers to print out all receipts. That's fine, but a simpler and more "green" alternative to this important tip is to simply take a screen shot of your order details, or save the page itself as an HTML file.

3. Shop from a locked-down PC. One piece of advice you almost always see in these Black Monday online shopping tips is to make sure you're running up-to-date anti-virus software. That's fine advice, of course, but if you're just now getting around to taking it, you might want to think twice about shopping online at all with that computer: It may already have a keystroke-logging virus on it. The best piece of advice: Use a Mac, or if you have more than one computer in the home, avoid shopping on the household's communal computer.

4. Look for the SSL sign/padlock in the browser's address bar. If you don't see this conspicuously on the page asking you to enter your personal and financial details, run away. This is the hallmark of one of thousands of fly-by-night consumer electronics shops on the Web. These phantom storefronts often rip off entire display pages from legitimate stores and are here today, gone tomorrow.

5. Avoid bargain-basement shopping online. There's nothing wrong with wanting the best price, but be aware that last year we saw plenty of phantom stores pop up around the holidays, advertising prices way below name-brand stores. If you're the type of shopper who buys from the cheapest online store regardless of whether you've ever bought anything from the site before.

Shopping Online provides a convenient way of making purchases at anytime of day, 365 days a year, from a wide range of retailers offering more choice than ever before. However, we would recommend that you take some precautionary measures to protect yourself and ensure that you have an enjoyable time shopping in the global shopping center that the internet has come to represent;

1. All of your usual shopping rights apply online.

2. Know who you're dealing with: get the seller's landline phone number and postal address

3. Be aware of terms and conditions: check payment and delivery details

4. Keep records of what you order

5. EU Law protects you against fraudulent use of your payment card in EU transactions: credit cards give you extra protection

6. Only give your payment card details over a secure connection, and never by email: never disclose your PIN number to anyone, and never send it over the internet

7. You usually have at least 7 days to cancel an order and request a refund from an EU retailer

8. Check your payment card statement carefully: you have at least 90 days to report a suspect transaction

9. When you buy goods online from outside the EU:
• you are an importer and may be liable to pay any Customs Duty and VAT;
• err on the side of caution as it may be difficult to seek redress if problems arise

10. If you have a problem, contact the seller then, if you need to, the payment company, local Trading Standards Office and any 'trustmark' organsiation the seller is registered with.